This is the great jewish deli tuna melt that I’ve never had. Let’s get right into the good stuff. Challah Tuna Melt You’ll need: challah bread one can of tuna 1/4 cup mayo 1/8 cup chopped celery 1 tablespoon chopped chives fresh ground pepper cheddar/american/colby jack cheese First, mix your tuna. Butter one side of each slice of challah. Place a generous heap of tuna on your challah along with one or two slices of cheese. Grill, covered, in a skillet on medium heat–about two minutes on each side.

Time to reveal the mystery ingredient: Ta-da! It’s Eggplant! And this concoction is an eggplant parmesan panini. I haven’t had eggplant parmesan in a very long time. Perhaps because I tried to make fried eggplant a few years back and it was awful. I blame a bad eggplant. This beauty, on the other hand, can do no wrong. Aren’t eggplants funny? Dense and spongy, almost like a nerf ball. Cutting into them is so much fun. I digress. Anyway, I saw this one in the grocery store and thought, what the hell, Eggplant Experimentation Round II, here we go. Not sure what I did differently, but these fried eggplant slices…

This, my friends, is pizza the way it was meant to be: I first tried this delicious combination in a small trattoria in Turino Italy. The crust was thin, crispy and warm. The flavors and textures of the uncooked toppings mixed PERFECTLY together: paper-thin slices of rich, salty prosciutto, generous shavings of parmigiano-reggiano, crisp, peppery arugula, a drizzle of olive oil, and fresh ground pepper. If I’m ever lucky enough to see a similar menu item stateside, I plead with my fellow diners to split it with me. Most people aren’t into it. Maybe the arugula and prosciutto turns them off. Or the fact that this isn’t anything close to…

Corn-centric recipes have been all over the food blogs this week, and I’ve posted a few myself. I wanted to chill out on the corny posts, but I had to use up my leftovers, so here goes: Mexican corn muffins You’ll need: 1/2 cup cilantro-lime corn (you can also just use regular sweet corn) 1 cup masa 2/3 cup water 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon cumin 1/4 cup shredded cheese, divided in half 2 tablespoons butter, softened ½ teaspoon ancho chile powder 1 teaspoon salt Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine ingredients, using half of the cheese (1/8 cup). The dough should be close to the consistency of…

Per my post about smart shopping, here are two great recipes that are very closely related, yet pleasantly unique. We’ll start with the pupusas, but first a background story. It’s quick, I promise. When I worked at the ad agency, we had several clients in the food industry, and one particular client that did amazing work in flavor and ingredient manufacturing. I was a PR account manager and copywriter on this account, which required me to subscribe to and read loads of fabulous food trade publications. Picture Bon Appetite for restauranteurs and food product formulators. One particular article I discreetly ripped from our agency’s copy of Flavor & The Menu has…

At least I think so. But perhaps I’m slightly biased. I whipped this up this afternoon for an impromptu BBQ at Greg and Doug’s. Before I start the recipe, here’s a disclaimer: I typically eyeball all the measurements. What follows is a rough estimation; we’re not baking a soufflé here, so we should be fine. Red Potato Salad You’ll need: about 3 lbs of small red potatoes (TIP: buy them in bulk if possible and choose ones that are roughly the same size so they cook in the same amount of time) 1-2 celery stalks, finely chopped 1 half of a small yellow onion, finely chopped 2 cloves of garlic,…

Ok, so some may say that making bruschetta without basil and balsamic vinegar is sacrilegious, but trust me, in a pinch, this recipe is absolutely delicious and almost too easy. Just so as not to offend the traditionalists, we’ll call this “T.O.G.O. (tomato, onion, garlic, olive oil) Crostini.” It was a real crowd-pleaser at Dave’s birthday. Even the birthday boy himself, who usually won’t get near a tomato, loved it. T.O.G.O. CROSTINI You’ll need: 3 good sized beefsteak tomatoes 1 medium yellow onion 3 medium cloves of garlic 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil ground pepper and salt to taste 1 crusty french baguette, cut into slices about 3/4 inch thick…